Flipping refers to the homes that were bought and sold within twelve months of purchase. It accounted for 4.6% of all U.S. single-family home sales, down 6.2% from a year ago.

These speculators saw a 21% gross return on initial investment.

“Flippers no longer have the luxury of 20 to 30 percent annual price gains to pad their profits," Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac said in a press release. "As the market softens, successful flippers will need to focus on finding properties that they can buy at a discount and efficiently add value to.”

But that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities out there anymore. We drew on the report to highlight the 12 metros where investors made the biggest return on initial investment in the second quarter.